Was out on the coast in Bodega to test out my new reel and rod pairing. Wasn't expecting to catch anything with the rig I was throwing. Got a hit and at first I thought I had a perch. It was putting up a decent fight so I thought maybe it was a little dink striper. My eyes popped outta my head when I landed it. It was a Steehead! It was a great surprise. Go figure. Sorry about the bad picture, I wanted to get the little guy back in the water as fast as I possible

Very very cool catch, but that isn't a Steelhead, that is a juvenile Salmon. Note the strongly forked caudal fin. Congrats on the rare fish!!_________________CPR: Catch, Picture, Release. Ensuring our sport lives on forever.

Species: Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum, 1792); from the Greek roots onkos (hook), rynchos (nose), and tshawytscha (the vernacular name for the species in Alaska and Kamchatka, USSR).

Alternate Names: Chinook salmon, black mouth, spring salmon, tyee (large specimens over 30 pounds), quinnat, hookbill, tchaviche, and tshawytscha. In the 19th century these were called quinnat, California salmon, king salmon, choweecha, Sacramento River salmon (by anglers in California) and Columbia River salmon (by anglers in Oregon and Washington). Called salmón boquinegra in Mexico.

Identification: Body elongate, mouth terminal, large, and teeth moderately sharp. Upper back and all of caudal fin, dorsal fin, and adipose fin have irregular black spots; gums are black at base of teeth. In saltwater their coloring is blue or greenish-blue to gray or black above, silver below. However, when spawning in freshwater their colors change. Males become very dark with smaller fish often a dull yellow. Larger males are often blotchy, dull red on sides. Females become blackish in color.

Size: Up to 58 inches and 135 pounds; those caught off piers rarely exceed 20 pounds and most are under 10 pounds. The California record for an ocean caught king salmon is 65 lb 4 oz caught near Crescent City in 2002.

Range: Bahia de Sebastian Vizcaino, central Baja California, to Point Hope, Chukchi Sea, Alaska, with strays across northern Alaska to Coppermine River in the Canadian Arctic; along the Asian Pacific coast from the Anadyr River, Russia to Hokkaido, northern Japan.

Habitat: King salmon are anadromous, spending part of their life in fresh water and part in salt water. Most of their adult life is spent in salt water before returning to their home stream, spawning, and dying.

Piers: As a general rule, few salmon are taken from southern California piers. While I have witnessed a salmon taken at the Balboa Pier, and one at Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara, I have not seen them from other SoCal piers. However, Snookie, the expert on the Newport and Balboa piers once caught a ten-pound king salmon at Balboa and reports she has seen several king and silver salmon taken at both piers. Perhaps their proximity to the deep water Newport Canyon and its cold waters helps explain the salmon. Most of the king salmon caught from California piers are taken in central and northern California. In central California they primarily are seen between Monterey Bay and San Francisco Bay. Best bets: Monterey Wharf #2, Seacliff State Beach Pier, Santa Cruz Wharf, Pacifica Pier and Fort Baker Pier. Top piers in northern California would be the Point Arena Pier, Trinidad Pier, and the B Street Pier in Crescent City. During some years large runs of salmon take place at Pacifica where as many as a thousand salmon have been landed in a single day. Runs generally start in late June or July and can run for a month or more. In the fall, when the salmon move into the Carquinez Strait on their way upstream (to the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers), they are frequently caught at both the Benicia 1st Street and 9th Street piers. However, far more salmon are landed by anglers casting from the nearby shoreline areas

Shoreline: Genereally not taken by shore anglers in ocean areas but caught by anglers in the Carquinez Strait and in streams and rivers.

Boats: A major goal of boaters from Avila north to the Oregon Border.

Bait and Tackle: Live bait is generally the best bait for piers. Usually this means using whatever you can catch via a throw net or a Sabiki (which can injure the fish). Most commonly a small smelt or shinerperch is used although small herring, sardine or anchovy are even better. A second approach is to use a whole dead anchovy on a live bait leader; a float is used in conjunction with a short leader to keep the bait floating just below the surface. It's a different story when the salmon have moved upriver. By the time they reach the waters at Benicia they have quit eating and are primarily caught on lures. A panoply of lures are used but the favorites at Benicia seem to be spinners — Mepps #5 Aglia or Aglia-e, Mepps Flying C's (various colors but especially green/yellow), and Vee Zee spinners (made and sold at Benicia Bait & Tackle). Spoons such as Kastmasters Krocodiles also are favored by many.

Food Value: Excellent! One of the best tasting fish in our waters. Rich, dark orange meat with a high fat content. One of the best fish for baking, broiling and smoking.

Comments: Salmon are the most prized of the Pacific northwest fish and Chinook or Kings are the most prized of the prized. Although typically uncommon on piers, they one of the favorite fish for pier anglers. Beginning in the mid-'80s, and occurring several times since, the Pacifca Pier has seen tremendous runs of salmon, primarily king salmon. Some weekends have seen over a thousand fish landed and naturally when that happens the rails will be lined with anglers. Nevertheless, the results can be worth the hassle. However, those days may be over. Less and less seem to show up each year.

Silver Salmon

Species: Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum, 1792); from the Greek roots onkos (hook), rhynchos (nose), and kisutch (the vernacular name for the species in Alaska and Kamchatka, USSR).

Alternate Names: Coho salmon, silversides, hooknose, hookbill, blueback (young salmon), jack salmon, tschaviche, showitz, quisutsch, and bielaya ryba. Called salmón plateado in Mexico. The English name coho appeared as early as 1878 as co-hu and presumably descended from such similar Indian dialect names as kwahwult (Chilliwack and Musqueam) and kúchuks (Sooke and Saanich). [Pacific Fishes of Canada, J. L. Hart]

Identification: Body elongate, mouth terminal, large, and needlelike teeth. They have irregular black spots on the back and on the upper part of caudal fin; gums are white at base of teeth. Their coloring is metallic blue above and silvery on sides. However, when spawing in freshwater their color changes. Males become dusky or bright green on their upper back and head, bright red on sides, and generally blackish below. The females are less bright—bronze to pinkish red on the sides.

Size: To 38 1/2 inches and 31 pounds. Most taken from piers are under eight pounds.

Habitat: Spends time in both fresh water and salt water. Tends to be near the surface of the water.

Piers: Relatively few silver salmon are taken from piers compared to king salmon. Nevertheless, a few are hooked each year north of Monterey Bay. Best bets: Pacifica Pier, Point Arena Pier, Trinidad Pier and the B Street Pier in Crescent City..

Shoreline: Genereally not taken by shore anglers in ocean areas but caught by anglers in streams and rivers; illegal to keep.

Boats: Once a major goal of boaters but now illegal to keep.

Bait and Tackle: None since they are illegal.

Food Value: None since they are illegal.

Comments: A favorite salmon due to its aerial acrobatics. It is now illegal to keep silver salmon in California. Handle with care and return them to the water._________________Support UPSAC! Preserve pier and shore angling in California.